[FALL 2013 UW] PSYCH 101 - LEC 7

Lec. 7 Memory: Schemas help us undergo a categorizing process that helps us with memory recollection Memory is the sensation and perception across time? Memory: the persistence of learning over time through the storage and retrieval of information {Encoding  storage  retrieval}  Encoding: the processing of information into the memory system- for example, by extracting meaning Storage: the retention of encoded information over time Retrieval: the process of getting information out of memory storage Stage model: 1) Sensory memory (register) – the initial stage where we come into contact with “recordings” of sensory information in the memory system. Short in duration, in the sensory “register”. - Recall Iconic / Echoic memory  “Background noise” – habituated/desensitized stimuli, forgotten within seconds (Not registered nor transferred to Short Term Memory  “Foreground information”: Internal trigger – motivated and aroused by certain mechanism to perceive certain information [focus] (Arousal  Stimuli) External trigger – selective attention to changes in environment (Stimuli  Arousal) 2) Short-term memory: activated memory that holds a few items while they are being used until they are before information is stored or forgotten. Duration in STM is rather short, and the capacity is limited. {methods such as assimilation and breaking equilibration help us retain the memory STMLTM} 3) Long-term memory: the relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system. Includes knowledge, skills, and experiences. Large capacity, and with long duration Working memory: a newer understanding of short-term memory that focuses on conscious, active, processing of incoming auditory and visual-spatial information, and of information retrieved from long-term memory Automatic processing: unconscious encoding of incidental information such as space, time, and frequency, and of well-learned information such as the meaning of words. Effortful processing: encoding that requires attention and conscious effort - Rehearsal: the conscious repetition of information, either to maintain it in consciousness or to encode it for storage - Spacing effect: the tendency for distributed study or practice to yield better long-term retention than is achieved through massed study or practice. - Serial position effect: our tendency to recall best the last and first items in a list Levels of processing: - Visual encoding: the encoding of picture images  Imagery: mental pictures; a powerful aid to effortful processing, especially when combined with semantic encoding  Mnemonic: memory aids, especially those techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices  Chunking: organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often occurs automatically - Acoustic encoding: the encoding of sound, especially the sound of words - Semantic encoding: the encoding of meaning, including the meaning of words Iconic memory: a momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli; a photographic or picture-image memory lasting no more than a few tenths of a second Echoic memory: a momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli; if attention is elsewhere, sounds and words can still be recalled within 3 or 4 seconds Long-term potentiation (LTP): an increase in a synapse’s firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation. Believed to be a neural basis for learning and memory Amnesia: the loss of memory Implicit memory (non-declarative memory): retention independent of conscious recollection Explicit memory (declarative memory): memory of facts and experiences that one an consciously know an “declare” Recall: Hippocampus: the neural center that is located in the limbic system; helps process explicit memories for storage. Recall: a measure of memory in which the person must retrieve information learned earlier, as on a fill-in-the-blank test Recognition: a measure of memory in which the person need only identify items previously learned as on a multiple choice test Relearning: a measure of memory that assesses the amount of time saved when learning material (for a second time) Priming: the activation, often unconsciously, of particular associations in memory Déjà vu: the eerie sense that “I’ve experienced this before” cutes from the current situation may subconsciously trigger retrieval of an earlier experience Mood-congruent memory: the tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one’s current good or bad mood Forgetting: Three sins of forgetting: - Absent mindedness: inattention to details leads to encoding failure - Transience: storage decay over time - Blocking: inaccessibility of stored information Protective interference: the disruptive effect of prior learning on the recall of new information Retroactive interference: the disruptive effect of new learning on the recall of old information Repression: in psychoanalytic theory, the basic defense mechanism that banishes from consciousness anxiety- arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories Misinformation effect: incorporating misleading information into one’s memory of an event Source amnesia: attributing to the wrongs source an event we have experienced, heard about, read about, or imagined. Source amnesia, along with the misinformation effect is as the heart of many false memories Thinking: Cognition: the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating Concepts: a mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people; we form our concepts by developing prototypes Prototype: a mental image or best example of a category Algorithm: a methodical, logical rule, or procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem. Contrasts with the usually speedier- but also more error- prone use of heuristics Heuristics: a simple thinking strategy that often allows us to make judgments and solve problems efficiently; usually speedier but also more error-prone than algorithms - Representativeness Heuristic: judging the likelihood of things in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes; may lead us to ignore other relevant information - Availability Heuristic: estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory; if instances come readily to mind, we presume such events are common Belief Perseverance: clinging to one’s initial conceptions after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited Framing: the way an issue is posed; how an issue is framed can significantly affect decisions and judgements Insight: a sudden and novel realization of the solution to a problem; it contrasts with strategy based solutions Confirmation Bias: a tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence Fixation: the inability to see a problem from a new p